Assessing and Reporting Student Learning Growth at BCR

What is assessment?Assessment is the process of gathering and interpreting evidence to make judgements about student learning. Assessment is used by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are at in their learning, where they need to go, and how best to get there. The purpose of assessment is to improve learning, inform teaching, help students achieve the highest standards they can and provide meaningful reports on students’ achievement.

What does this mean in a school?According to NESA

provides opportunities for teachers to gather evidence about student achievement in relation to syllabus outcomes

enables students to demonstrate what they know and can do clarifies student understanding of concepts and promotes deeper understanding provides evidence that current understanding and skills are a suitable basis for future

learning.

What is Standards Referenced Assessment?Standards-referenced assessment refers to the process of collecting and interpreting information about students' learning. It uses syllabus outcomes as key reference points for decisions about students' progress and achievement.

Syllabus outcomes: indicate the knowledge, understanding and skills expected to be acquired by most

students by the end of a stage as a result of effective teaching and learning are derived from the syllabus objectives present a sequence of learning for each stage and take into account prior and

subsequent learning of students.

Syllabus outcomes are used by teachers to: plan and develop learning and assessment opportunities monitor student progress throughout each stage assess and measure student achievement against intended learning at each stage report student progress and achievement during, and at the end of, a stage.

What types of assessment are used at BCR?Assessment can be both a formative and summative process. Formative assessment is used to provide feedback to students and teachers to promote further learning. Summative assessment contributes to the judgement of student learning for reporting and certification purposes. This is referred to as assessment for, as and of learning.

From the Melbourne Declaration: Assessment of student progress will be rigorous and comprehensive. It needs to reflect the curriculum, and draw on a combination of the professional judgement of teachers and testing, including national testing.

School-level assessment that focuses on:assessment for learning— enabling teachers to use information about student progress to inform their teachingassessment as learning—enabling students to reflect on and monitor their own progress to inform their future learning goalsassessment of learning—assisting teachers to use evidence of student learning to assess student achievement against goals and standards.

formative assessment – is assessment for learning. It is used at the beginning of an instructional period and during the process of instruction as teachers check for student understanding. Diagnostic tools determine what students already know and where there are gaps and misconceptions. Formative assessment also includes assessment as learning, where students reflect on and monitor their own progress. The information gained guides teachers’ decisions in how to enhance teaching and learning. Formative assessment enables students to learn through the process of feedback and opportunities to practise and improve. As students reflect on and monitor their progress this process effectively becomes assessment as learning and contributes to students planning future learning goals.

summative assessment – is assessment of learning. It is used towards and at the end of the instruction period. Teachers document the culmination of students’ learning achievements through tasks that invite students to demonstrate their mastery and knowledge of the course content. Summative assessment data provides teachers with information about how effective teaching strategies have been, time needed for instruction and how to improve teaching for future students.

At Brigidine students in Years 7-9 will have no more than one summative, common assessment task per semester.

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What is feedback? Teacher feedback about student learning is essential for students and integral to teaching, learning and assessment. It aids formative assessment and summative assessment.

Feedback can clarify for students: how their knowledge, understanding and skills are developing in relation to the syllabus

outcomes and content being addressed how to improve their learning.

Feedback enables students to recognise their strengths as well as areas for development, and to identify and plan with their teacher the next steps in their learning.

is timely, specific and related to the learning and assessment intention

is constructive and provides meaningful information to students about their learning focuses on the activity and corrects misunderstandings identifies and reinforces students’ strengths provides information about how they can improve facilitates the development of and provides opportunities for self-assessment and reflection

during the learning process informs future teaching and learning opportunities.

Feedback can occur at any point in the teaching, learning and assessment cycle. It may: include regular teacher–student dialogue to guide student learning focus on particular knowledge, understanding and skills related to content, and/or processes

applied to an activity.

Students may benefit from opportunities to self-assess, self-monitor and make judgements about their work in relation to standards and should be provided with regular opportunities to reflect on their learning.

What are some examples of formative assessment?Peer and self-assessment strategies can provide teachers with information to plan teaching and learning opportunities for students. Peer and self-assessment strategies can be formal or informal. Teachers may choose to incorporate peer and self-assessment into teaching, learning and assessment to assist students to develop a better understanding of themselves as learners. Peer and self-assessment can encourage students to reflect on their learning in relation to the outcomes, and recognise the next steps needed to improve their learning.

Teacher observations can provide information about student achievement in relation to outcomes. Evidence may be gathered and recorded formally and informally, where:

informal observation and feedback occur during teaching and learning activities formal observation involves planning for an opportunity to observe specific learning

outcomes.

What is reporting?Schools are required by law to report twice yearly to parents. This normally takes the form of school reports containing grades and comments based on syllabus outcomes. While these reports are useful they often only tell a small fraction of the picture of a student’s learning. Parents need to be able to decode this information. They need to know what grades are, what outcomes are, what assessment was used to formulate the report. They need to know how to differentiate marks, bands and grades.

Attending parent/teacher interviews or meeting with teachers adds to the picture, but still doesn’t tell the complete story.

The feedback that your daughter gets from her teachers is also an important reporting tool. Knowing what a teacher has communicated to your daughter about her learning does complete the picture. This requires speaking with your daughter about what she has been doing at school, engaging yourself with her learning and encouraging her to improve.

How are grades determined?The Common Grade Scale shown below can be used to report student achievement in both primary and junior secondary years in all NSW schools.

The Common Grade Scale describes performance at each of five grade levels.

AThe student has an extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and can readily apply this knowledge. In addition, the student has achieved a very high level of competence in the processes and skills and can apply these skills to new situations.

BThe student has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content and a high level of competence in the processes and skills. In addition, the student is able to apply this knowledge and these skills to most situations.

C The student has a sound knowledge and understanding of the main areas of content and has achieved an adequate level of competence in the processes and skills.

D The student has a basic knowledge and understanding of the content and has achieved a limited level of competence in the processes and skills.

E The student has an elementary knowledge and understanding in few areas of the content and has achieved very limited competence in some of the processes and skills.

Aligning a work sample to a particular grade indicates that the work sample is of a standard that would typically be produced by a student whose overall performance, on balance, best matches that grade description, on the basis of available assessment information and with reference to the course performance descriptors.

When making a judgement of the grade to be awarded, teachers: Arriving at judgements, take into account strengths and weaknesses in performance across a

range of contexts and over a period of time, gathering evidence on a number of assessment activities.

When deciding the number and type of assessment activities, the emphasis is on the nature and quality rather than on the amount of evidence.

Assessment activities should give students opportunities to show what they know and can do.

Teachers provide opportunities for students to display their achievements in different ways and to work in a range of situations.

A single piece of work will not cover all aspects of a grade description. Using a single piece of work to make a judgement is therefore not as valid and reliable as an 'on-balance' judgement.

Each grade description should be considered alongside descriptions for adjacent grades.

The Common Grade Scale

HomeworkIn 2014 the Victorian Government undertook an “Inquiry Into The Approaches of homework in Victorian Schools.” After conducting its own literature review, receiving 32 submissions and hearing from 16 expert witnesses during three days of public hearings, the inquiry committee had this to say: 'It is not possible from the available data to make unequivocal statements about the effectiveness of homework overall in assisting student learning.’

At Brigidine College we believe that homework is an integral part of the collaborative educational process between the student, parent and school.

There are three types of homework that are generally given:1. Deliberate practice of things learned in class2. Projects or assignments

3. Study or preparation for assessment tasks

The type of homework given to a student will depend on a number of factors:1. The year level of the student2. The ability of the student3. The time of year4. The needs of the teacher and department

The quality of homework is more important than the quantity. Students should receive feedback on homework which is specific and timely. Teachers should also ensure that the purpose of homework is made clear to their students.

Brigidine College believes that mandating hours of homework is not of any benefit. There is, however, benefit in structuring a specific time for homework to be completed or for students to engage in their own learning. There is evidence that suggests this can help students develop time management skills and gives parents a chance to engage with their child’s learning. How this is structured is a decision for parents to make.

Parental SupportWhile research supports the notion that parental engagement may positively impact student academic attainment, there is an important distinction between involving parents in schooling and engaging parents in learning; it is the latter that has shown to have the greatest positive impact.

While involving parents in school activities may have an important community and social function, the key to facilitating positive change in a child’s academic attainment is the engagement of parents in learning outcomes in the home.

There is a compelling body of evidence about what kinds of parental involvement/engagement can have the greatest influence on learning outcomes.

International research has shown that parental engagement (of various kinds) has a positive impact on many indicators of student achievement, including:

higher grades and test scores, enrolment in higher level programs and advanced classes, lower drop-out rates, a greater likelihood of commencing postsecondary education, more regular school attendance, better social skills, improved behaviour, a greater sense of personal competence and efficacy for learning, greater engagement in school work, and a stronger belief in the importance of education

Parental aspirations and expectations, attitudes, behaviours, and actions in relation to their children’s education have a substantial impact on student learning and educational attainment as well as student well-being.

There seems to be certain principles and behaviours which lie at the heart of effective parental engagement:communicating with children about parental expectations for education and about the value and enjoyment of learning,

communicating with children about parental expectations for education and about the value and enjoyment of learning,

discussing learning strategies with children, linking school work to current events and other topics, fostering educational aspirations and making preparations and plans for the future, providing a stimulating home learning environment, and making learning enjoyable and

rewarding, and focusing on activities which are directed at building students’ decision-making and problem-

solving skills and affirming their growing autonomy, independence, and academic abilities.

Diverse Learning At BrigidineDiverse Learning has become a prominent growth area in schools in the 21st Century. All individuals have the right to a quality education and through our diverse learning department we attempt to address the needs of all students.

Introduce Michael

The Newman Selective Gifted & Talented ProgramAt Brigidine College, the accepted definition of giftedness and talent is adopted from Françoys Gagné’s model (2004), where ‘giftedness’ is understood as outstanding potential and ‘talent’ as outstanding performance.

Gifted children possess outstanding natural intellectual, physical, creative or social abilities. Importantly, gifted children and young people may or may not be high achievers – while they may have outstanding potential they can be disengaged and under-achieve. While all gifted individuals have the potential to perform at a significantly higher level than their age-peers, their level of ability may be considered on a scale of mildly to extremely gifted.

Around 10-15% of people may fall within the full range of gifted abilities, however high to extreme levels of giftedness are only prevalent in a very small proportion of the population (1-2%).

Talented individuals are those who demonstrate outstanding mastery of systematically developed knowledge and skills in one or more areas. They typically develop these competencies through practice and are usually highly motivated and persistent in their endeavours.

At Brigidine the Newman Program for Year 8 and 9 begins in Term 1 and for Year 7 it begins in Term 2 when students are sorted into their classes.

Selection for the Newman Program is based on numerous measures. Each eligible student is chosen after their criteria for selection has been discussed by the Newman Committee and then they are placed into the Sofia Class. The Sofia class is the group of students that share their class groupings for English, Mathematics, Science, HSIE and Religion. Criteria for Selection

Allwell Ability and Achievement Testing Naplan Performance Parent Nomination Teacher Nomination School Reports External Competitions